The Ice Cave "Eisriesenwelt"
A rainy day seemed to be a good day to visit this ice cave, which is one of the largest in Europe. The cave is 42 km deep/long, but only about 1 km is filled with ice. We were guided through this first kilometer where the water has frozen.
The guide spoke English. When you reach the cave entrance, you can choose between two languages: English or German. You simply stand by the signs for the preferred language.
The journey up to the ice cave entrance is a two-part trip, each about 20 minutes. Let's start from the beginning. If you arrive early, you can park very close to the ticket booth (though we had bought our tickets online and saved some euros). If you come a bit later, the parking spaces are likely to be taken, but you can park in the town and take a bus up.
With the electronic tickets, it was super easy to gain access. They need to be scanned at the entrance here at the parking lot, at the lift, and again at the entrance to the ice cave itself.
The walk up to the lift takes about 20 minutes on foot. The area is incredibly beautiful even on a rainy day. The path is easy to walk on as it's even and well-maintained. Handrails and other safety measures are also in good condition. And that's important because part of the journey is literally along the edge. Okay, the path is very wide, about 4-5 meters, so you don't need to walk so close to the edge that you can see how far down it is, but it's an impressive sight and for us coming from flat Denmark, it's an amazing experience.
At the lift, you scan your ticket again and enter the lift, packed like sardines. Some were asked to take off their backpacks to make room for a few more. The ride in the lift only takes a few minutes, and then you reach the second stage of the ascent. From here, it's about another 20 minutes' walk from the lift to the entrance of the ice cave.
On the way up, you can choose to go through a tunnel or take a scenic path. We chose the tunnel on the way up and the scenic path on the way down. Note that there are goats grazing on the steep slopes below the path.
At the cave entrance, as mentioned earlier, we chose the guide speaking in English.
The journey into the ice cave. Every 3-4 people were equipped with a lamp. A model lamp that was used 100 years ago. A polished metal screen forms a parabola around a small flame. Compared to today's lamps, this lamp doesn't emit any significant light. The guide carries a magnesium wire that ignites and burns with an incredibly bright light, enough to illuminate the cave, and we can see the ice formations.
The guide tells about the discovery of the ice cave and the challenges inside the cave. It's said that the cave changes year after year due to the ice.
380 steps as a warm-up. The guide says we'll climb about 700 steps in total, and the initial 380 can be seen as a warm-up. It was tough to climb, but fortunately, the guide goes very slowly, so even those of us with poor physical condition can keep up. The guide was good at keeping the back of the group together.
I have uploaded pictures along with this text, which probably speak for themselves, but it was a great trip and exciting to walk in the sometimes pitch-dark cave. It's a good idea to bring a flashlight (remember fresh batteries) so you can illuminate the path ahead when the guide's magnesium burns out, and everything is dark, albeit sparsely lit by the old lamps.
The cave is cold, with temperatures around freezing or below, but due to the many steps up and down, the cold climate was not a problem.
The journey down from the cave was just as beautiful and impressive as the ascent, though my breathing was more controlled on the way down than up.
I can highly recommend a trip into this ice cave. It's a memorable experience that will stay with you for...
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